QAnon Shaman breaks silence as DC braces for possible violence
Jacob Chansley says he ‘regrets’ January 6 participation as troops circle US Capitol amid plots of second insurrection.
![National Guard troops keep watch on the United States Capitol as police say they have uncovered plans by a militia group to possibly breach the US Capitol on Thursday [Jacquelyn Martin/AP Photo]](https://www.aljazeera.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/AP_21063531559957.jpg?resize=770%2C513)
The “QAnon Shaman” who wore fur and a horned helmet during the January 6 United States Capitol insurrection said his actions “were not an attack” on the US in his first interview since his arrest on Thursday as authorities raise alarms about a possible attack on March 4.
Jacob Chansley, a noted adherent of the far-right QAnon conspiracy movement that believes former President Donald Trump was chosen to defeat a cabal of global liberal elites who harvest children’s blood to stay young, stormed the US Capitol along with thousands of other Trump supporters.
Chansley told US broadcaster CBS, “My actions were not an attack on this country. That is incorrect. That is inaccurate, entirely”. He claimed he “sang a song” while allegedly on the Senate floor, to create “positive vibrations in a sacred chamber”.
This is “part of being a shaman”, Chansley said, going on to say he also stopped people from stealing muffins from a Senate break room.
So far, about 300 people have been charged with federal crimes for their roles in the riot. Five people, including a Capitol Police officer, died.

The “one very serious regret that I have, was believing that when we were waved in by police officers, that it was acceptable”, Chansley said of breaching the Senate.
The comments highlight concerns over the lax response from Capitol and federal law enforcement to the January 6 attempt by far-right Trump supporters to stop a joint session of Congress from certifying President Joe Biden’s electoral victory.
Seized Capitol
Capitol Police and FBI authorities have recently faced Congressional questioning about intelligence gathering ahead of the January 6 riot – and about why the far-right extremists were able to easily breach the Capitol.